8 Reasons You Shouldn’t Do A Home Inspection Yourself

Buying a home is a significant financial decision for many people. In the excitement of finding their dream house, they often fail to understand the importance of a professional home inspection. 

Some of them take upon themselves to perform a DIY home inspection. But that can barely help make an informed decision.

That said, here are 8 reasons why you shouldn’t do a home inspection yourself.

You Are Not Qualified To Perform A Home Inspection 

A quality home inspection requires knowledge across multiple fields like electrical, plumbing, structural, civil, etc. Unless you have the required training, and have passed certification exams, you better leave the task to a Kitchener home inspector.

You Are Not Experienced 

Home inspection works to reveal hidden problems with the house. It is a specialized profession that requires years of experience within the industry to qualify as reliable experts. 

Since professionals have undertaken various projects, they know what to do and how to do it. They can identify underlying hidden defects so that the repairs can be made and the issues are fixed. 

You Don’t Have the Necessary Tools

To perform an inspection, home inspectors need specific tools like infrared cameras to diagnose problems of missing insulation, moisture meters for hidden water leaks, fault detectors, multimeters, etc.

Unless you have a home-inspection tool kit and know how to use every equipment, trust the professionals.

You Don’t Have the Time

Or maybe, you do. But do you know how detailed and back-breaking the entire process is?

Assessing the property from a foundational and structural standpoint takes time. Moreover, inspecting electrical and plumbing units is complex. Do you think you are up for examining everything in detail?

You Know Nothing About Home Inspection Reports 

Do you even have a tad bit knowledge about what entails a home inspection report?

Home inspection professionals can curate a detailed home inspection report, in a format, builders can understand. They are immensely experienced and know what areas to cover.

But with a DIY home inspection report, the chances are highly likely that the builders won’t take you seriously. 

You May Miss Hidden Defects And Issues

Most of the problems in a home cannot be detected by the untrained eye.

As mentioned before, the goal of a home inspection is to identify underlying issues that could turn into major problems.

Since you lack experience and training, you may easily be fooled into believing that the house is perfect. Any money that you save conducting the home inspection yourself will be offset by the money you may have to spend on future repairs. 

What if the house was affected by floods in the past? Chances are likely that the previous homeowner did not call professionals for water damage restoration. If that’s the case, there could be water hidden beneath the ceilings, under the floors, behind the walls, and you wouldn’t be able to detect it. 

But when you work with a professional, you can analyze the overall condition of the house. They will give you fact-based structural insights so that you don’t put your hard-earned money at risk.

A Professional Can Tell You The Severity Of A Problem

Professionals can distinguish between issues that can and cannot be fixed. They can also notify you about the severity of the problem. 

Based on the rough estimate of the repair and maintenance cost provided by the home inspector, you can negotiate the asking price with the seller or request him to get the issues solved. 

Home Inspection Is Not Your Bread And Butter

Home inspectors perform home inspections for a living. But you don’t. This clearly means that you can count on their advice and rely on their assessment. 

In The End

Here you have them – 8 reasons to never perform a home inspection yourself!

It’s always wise to call in professionals for tasks they are good at. They can conduct a thorough home inspection and diagnose problems that need to be rectified. 

Hopefully, this article helped you understand the need for a professional home inspection. 

NOTE: Before you employ professionals for the task, make sure you inquire about the cost associated with the home inspection.